NEW YORK — A new connected shoe from Under Armour will let users track their runs without having to charge third-party devices or remember to hit start in a workout app.
This new line of sneaker, which includes the HOVR Phantom that Under Armour compares to a luxury car and the HOVR Sonic that it compares to a sleeker sports car, has a high-tech textile design with polymer-based cushions that redirect energy upon impact. Company executives say it gives users a zero-gravity feel.
But a more interesting aspect of these shoes, which are set to hit store shelves on Feb. 1, is a lightweight chip built into the thickest part of the right-shoe midsole with an accelerometer, which automatically detects when a user has started to run and tracks a number of key running metrics.
In what Under Armour is calling the “untethered experience,” the shoes will automatically track distance, stride length and cadence, even if the runner doesn’t bring a phone with them. The data will be stored on the shoe until it can sync to Under Armour’s MapMyRun app via Bluetooth when the runner returns home.
As part of the “tethered experience,” the sneakers will sync with the phone’s GPS to additionally capture real-time location, pace and elevation gains. Users can also connect to the app third-party devices, such as Fitbit, Garmin or Apple Watch, to incorporate metrics the shoes can’t track, such as heart rate.
Company executives say they’re hoping these shoes remove some of the friction that can often hinder the tracking of a workout, such as remembering to charge a device, put it on, or hit start ahead of a run.
“The more you have to charge, the higher likeliness you won’t pick it up again,” Jim Mollica, Under Armour’s senior VP of global consumer engagement and digital marketing, said in a meeting with SportTechie. “The sensors elevate this to a whole new level. These are just shoes, but we have a much better ability to impact your performance.”
Under Armour is banking on the digital fitness community that these fitness apps have created to drive demand for its products. Under Armour’s apparel sales declined by 8 percent last quarter, though footwear sales were up 2 percent and connected technology sales, while just a small portion of its overall business, climbed 16 percent.
Under Armour touts its fitness community as being the largest in the world, with more than 225 million registered users. It added 25 million new users in 2017, and hopes the connected shoes, which mesh and digital and physical worlds, will add to those numbers in 2018.
“We’re bringing the power of software to a physical product,” said Ben McAllister, director of product of Under Armour’s connected fitness division.
The community is providing Under Armour with an unprecedented amount of data that it can use to develop more products that respond directly to the behavioral habits of its customers base.
According to company data, UA’s connected fitness users have logged 500 million-plus workouts and taken seven trillion steps since the company started tracking the data. From that, Under Armour has been able to garner insights, such as how 3.1 miles is the average distance for a run and how May is the most active month for exercise.
“All that data helps provide more insight into the types of products we can create,” Mollica said.
The new HOVR smart shoes are designed specifically for a runner, tracking both road and treadmill runs. They’ll begin tracking as soon as the user starts running, and then stop five minutes after the run has stopped. If the user takes a three-minute walking break, they’ll pause for those few minutes and then resume when the runner picks up. If there’s a longer pause, the shoes will count the next run as a new workout.
The battery in the smart chip is designed to outlast the life of the shoe, and the shoe’s analytics will let runners know when it’s time to buy new shoes (runners are recommended to buy new shoes every 300 miles or so to prevent injury). This is something that connected sportswear company Sensoria also offers with the smart shoe it announced at the end of 2017, which is set to begin shipping this quarter.
Under Armour believes that creating a specific use case (rather than tracking everything from a tennis workout to jiujitsu) will drive user retention and enable the company to provide hyper-focused insights and coaching to improve a user’s health. With these shoes, Under Armour will introduce a new digital coaching product that will provide individual insights based on user’s runs, age, height, weight and gender. If it detects that a runner’s stride is too long, for example, it’ll let them know they’re above average and explain how shortening their stride will make their workout more efficient.
Users can always opt to share their progress with a newsfeed-like community of active fitness enthusiasts who populate the app with their own motivational posts. Under Armour will also enable users to participate in competitions and events that might further inspire them to get up and go for a run.
“You’re seeing a different level of commitment when you have some kind of a social netting,” said Mollica.
The connected HOVR Phantom will be available for $140 when it’s officially unveiled next week. The connected HOVR Sonic will retail for $110.